Louis Wenzlaff, president of the board of directors, opened the 80th Annual Meeting of Thumb Electric Cooperative (Thumb) members on June 10 at the Thumb Octagon Barn- a brand new venue for the annual meeting. "The Octagon Barn is a very fitting venue for our event," explained Brad Essemacher, member services manager at Thumb. Built in 1924, the historic Thumb Octagon Barn stands today [...]
A beautiful, sunny Upper Peninsula day provided the perfect backdrop to Alger Delta’s 79th Annual Meeting held on Saturday, June 10, at the U.P. State Fairgrounds. More than 400 members attended the event which featured a picnic-style cookout, games and activities for the whole family and many prize drawings. “This event gives us a chance to show our members how much we appreciate [...]
Online registration is now open for both the Electric Co-op Foundations and Member Services training sessions this fall! Member Services Training About the course This course focuses on customer communication skills and is designed to help each service provider understand the importance of providing positive “moments of truth” through each and every encounter he or she has with customers. An emphasis will be [...]
Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op board of directors has appointed Tom Sobeck as chief executive officer. Sobeck succeeds CEO Brian Burns, who retired on May 5, 2017. “We are delighted to have Tom in his new role and leading PIE&G forward into the next chapter of the co-op’s history,” said John Brown, board chairman. “We’re pleased to have successfully completed the CEO [...]
Midwest Energy Cooperative’s CEO, Bob Hance, was invited by U.S. Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas to testify before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in Frankenmuth last Saturday, May 6. Mr. Roberts is the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman and hails from Kansas. The title of the hearing was "Growing Jobs and Economic Opportunity: Perspectives on the 2018 Farm Bill from Michigan." Both MECA and [...]
After 32 years of loyal and dedicated service to the Michigan electric cooperative family, Brian Burns, CEO of Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G), will retire on May 5, 2017. “Brian has been a tremendous asset to our team,” said Craig Borr, CEO of the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association. “Over the years his integrity and insights have been invaluable. He will be [...]
Alger Delta Cooperative Electric Association will meet more of its customers’ electricity needs with power harnessed from the sun thanks to a recently announced agreement between Alger Delta’s not-for-profit power supplier, WPPI Energy, and NextEra Energy Resources. WPPI Energy and NextEra Energy Resources recently announced plans to build a 100 megawatt solar energy center – Wisconsin’s largest – with a capacity to serve [...]
As far as Michigan's electric cooperatives are concerned, there should be “No Barriers” to veterans with disabilities. That’s the name—and the idea—behind Co-Bank’s No Barriers initiative. Designed to help veterans with disabilities transform their lives through curriculum-based experience in challenging environments (think: climbing, rafting and hiking), the program takes place over a five-day expedition in Colorado. As the program sponsor, CoBank will cover [...]
The Michigan Municipal Electric Association (MMEA) and MECA recently ran a storm response exercise, in which a major ice storm hit south central Michigan. In the simulation, damage from the storm was widespread and impacted multiple municipal and cooperative utilities across the State. The exercise dictated that more than 60 crews were requested by seven different utilities. It was the task of the [...]
Spartan Renewable Energy (Spartan) is one of seven member-owners of Wolverine Power Cooperative (Wolverine). It was created in 2006 with the goal of selling power at retail under Michigan’s Electric Choice Program. The long-term vision for Spartan has always been the development of renewable energy projects. For this reason, it was set-up as a for-profit corporation. As a for-profit entity, it can use [...]
